Brexit, Fake News, AI & Spreadsheet Risk Management: Month in Data

In our latest data round-up, we look at the UK’s options after Brexit, the political impact of fake news, AI and Google Brain, spreadsheet risk management and more.

Spreadsheet Risk Management Better than AI for Excel Users?

A recent article on IT Pro Portal discusses the argument that spreadsheets offer businesses the flexibility and agility to adapt and enhance vital business processes. Corporate IT departments can’t or don’t offer the same level of speed when it comes to modern business and managing change. AI will likely help businesses to find new efficiencies and better processes in the not too distant future, but in the meantime, the humble spreadsheet will continue to be the tool of choice for data driven decision making for many a company, so good process to manage the inherent risk of error is essential.Read the full article here.

US Hiring is Up and Demand for Data Scientists is Off the Charts

In a look through August’s LinkedIn Workforce Report for the United States, we noted that hiring in July was up 4.6% on the previous July – positive news. What was even more interesting is the surge in demand for data scientists. There is a shortage of over 151,000 staff with data science skills in the US alone, so training in this field should be a smart career move, as businesses look to leverage new and emerging technologies and concepts, such as AI and big data analytics.

Dataset Search – New Tool from Google

Similar in functionality to Google Scholar, Dataset Search lets you find datasets wherever they are hosted. This could be on a publisher website, a digital library, or on an author’s personal page. The idea is that data journalists, scientists, data-driven geeks, or anyone else can find the information required for their work and their stories, or just to satisfy their personal curiosity. Read the Google announcement and explanation here.

Eurozones and the Post-Brexit Landscape – a Visualization

As no deal is yet confirmed and the best outcomes for all parties are still be hotly debated, this interesting graphic helps us to visualize and get a handle on the various Eurozones the potential post-Brexit landscape. Many businesses are uncertain about what the future holds in terms of compromises, threats and opportunities, so this visualization – another great one from Information is Beautiful – might be helpful for many.

Salesforce Adds Quip Slides to its Collaboration Suite

This development in the Salesforce Colloboration Suite of business tools allows people to create interactive social presentations to boost engagement. The additional functionalities include:

Interview with Andrew Ng – Influential Leader in AI

The Political Impact of Fake News – a Mathematical Model

David Meier from Brunel University and Dorje Brody from the University of Surrey used the mathematical theory of communication to devise a model that simulates how fake news influences elections and referendums. There are interesting points raised about even genuine communication gets distorted by ‘noise’ as it travels through time and space to the receiver.